Finger shield and support for split-fingered glove

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a split-fingered glove comprising: a hand-receiving portion for receiving a hand; and, one or more padded finger-receiving portions extending from the hand-receiving portion, one or more of the finger-receiving portions having one or more flexible articulations at a back thereof and having a shield or shields over the one or more articulations to protect one or more finger joints, the shield or shields being engaged with and slidably constrained by the finger-receiving portion, the shield or shields sliding in response to curling and uncurling the hand. The glove provides better protection and support for fingers than prior art split-fingered gloves, and is particularly useful in sporting activities such as hockey and lacrosse.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to gloves, particularly to glovesfor sports.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Gloves may be used to prevent or minimize damage to hands,including fingers, during activities that pose a risk of injury to thehands. Activities such as sports, for example hockey (e.g. ice hockey,roller hockey, field hockey, etc.), lacrosse, football, cricket, etc.,may be particularly hazardous activities and people go to great lengthsto protect all parts of the body, including the hands during suchsports. Contact sports and sports that require the use of sticks, suchas hockey and lacrosse, require even greater protection for the hands,including the fingers, than other sports.

[0003] Recently, so-called split-fingered hockey gloves have beendesigned to provide greater flexibility of hand movement so that aplayer has better feel and control over a stick. An example of such aglove is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,739 issued Feb. 6, 1996 toCardinal. Split-fingered gloves are designed with discontinuous paddingon the finger portions of the glove so that the fingers of the glove canbend more easily at articulations formed at or near the finger joints.While this arrangement permits greater flexibility and control of handmotion, it also reduces protection surrounding the finger joints andreduces support against twisting with respect to the ends of thefingers. Thus, there is an increased likelihood of hand injury fromimpact with other sticks, with bodies, with boards, with the playingsurface or other obstacles in the playing area.

[0004] In order to ameliorate this problem, extra material has beenadded into the articulations, usually in the form of loops of glovematerial, for example leather. While this provides some protection forthe finger joint, these efforts do not provide sufficient shielding toadequately protect the finger from injury due to impacts at the joint,nor do they provide support against twisting of the fingers.

[0005] Thus, there remains a need to provide a split-fingered glove,which benefits from the flexibility offered by the split-fingereddesign, but also protects fingers from impact and/or twisting,particularly at the finger joints.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] There is provided a split-fingered glove comprising: ahand-receiving portion for receiving a hand; and, one or more paddedfinger-receiving portions extending from the hand-receiving portion, oneor more of the finger-receiving portions having one or more flexiblearticulations at a back thereof and having a shield or shields over theone or more articulations to protect one or more finger joints, theshield or shields being engaged with and slidably constrained by thefinger-receiving portion, the shield or shields sliding in response tocurling and uncurling the hand.

[0007] There is further provided a hockey glove comprising: ahand-receiving portion for receiving a hand; and, four paddedfinger-receiving portions extending from the hand-receiving portion,each finger-receiving portions having, at a back thereof, one flexiblearticulation having a shield or shields thereover to protect a fingerjoint, the shield or shields being engaged with and slidably constrainedby the finger-receiving portion, the shield or shields sliding inresponse to curling and uncurling the hand.

[0008] There is yet further provided a hockey glove comprising: ahand-receiving portion for receiving a hand; and, four paddedfinger-receiving portions extending from the hand-receiving portion,each finger-receiving portions having, at a back thereof, two flexiblearticulations having a shield or shields thereover to protect a fingerjoint, the shield or shields being engaged with and slidably constrainedby the finger-receiving portion, the shield or shields sliding inresponse to curling and uncurling the hand.

[0009] As used in the specification and the appended claims, thesingular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless thecontext clearly dictates otherwise.

[0010] In the context of the present invention, one skilled in the artunderstands that a split-fingered glove refers to a glove havingdiscontinuous padding along a finger or fingers. Split-fingered glovesencompass gloves having a single finger-receiving portion, such as in amitten, or having a plurality of finger-receiving portions, such as in astandard hockey glove, for example the glove described in U.S. Pat. No.5,488,739. It is understood that the thumb is a separate digit, whichhas its own thumb-receiving portion.

[0011] When a hand is curled within a glove, material on the back of theglove, including the hand-receiving portion and the finger-receivingportion, must stretch to accommodate the curling of the hand. Suchstretching is more difficult when the back of the glove is padded. Thus,padding a glove in an effort to provide better protection also restrictsthe ability to curl the hand thereby restricting mobility andflexibility of the hand in the glove. In order to provide increasedflexibility, the finger-receiving portions of split-fingered gloves maybe formed with flexible articulations at the back at or near one or morefinger joints. Thus, there is a break in the padding at the back of thefinger-receiving portions thereby exposing finger joints to injury andweakening support against twisting of the end of the finger-receivingportions.

[0012] In a split-fingered glove of the present invention, a shield isplaced over the articulations to protect the finger joints from injuryand/or to provide support against twisting of the finger. The shield isengaged with and slidably constrained by the finger-receiving portion,and the shield slides in response to curling and uncurling of the handwhile still remaining positioned over the articulation. Thus, theflexibility enjoyed from a split fingered glove is not lost while theprotective benefit of the shield is retained at all times.

[0013] As mentioned above, a split-fingered glove may have one or morefinger-receiving portions. The thumb-receiving portion is generallyconsidered separate from the finger-receiving portion. Generally, butnot necessarily, when a split-fingered glove is padded, thethumb-receiving portion is provided with continuous padding along theback, therefore, the thumb-receiving portion generally does not requirea shield as contemplated by the present invention. However, it iscontemplated within the scope of the invention that the thumb-receivingportion could also have a shield if desired. One or more of thefinger-receiving portions in a padded split-fingered glove are providedwith discontinuous padding along the back thereby forming flexiblearticulations at or near finger joints which would benefit from a shieldas contemplated by the present invention.

[0014] The split-fingered glove may have one finger-receiving portionfor all four of the fingers, in which case a single shield spanning allfour fingers may be conveniently used. However, even when there is onlyone finger-receiving portion for all four fingers, it is possible tohave individual shields for each finger. Alternatively, the glove mayhave four separate finger-receiving portions for each finger, in whichcase individual shields may be used for each finger, although a singleshield spanning all four finger-receiving portions is still possible.Any combination of the number of finger-receiving portions and thenumber of shields may be contemplated within the scope of the presentinvention. In a typical split-fingered hockey glove, there is anindividual finger-receiving portion for each finger and it is preferredthat each finger-receiving portion have its own shield.

[0015] Each finger has more than one joint. A split-fingered glove maybe designed to articulate at or near one or more of the joints of thefinger. Providing articulation at or near more than one finger jointprovides greater flexibility for the hands but also reduces the amountof protection and support for the fingers. When there is more than onearticulation in a finger-receiving portion, a single shield may beprovided which is long enough to cover all articulations and thereforeprotect all of the finger joints of the finger. Alternatively, aseparate shield may be provided for each articulation. Combinations ofsingle shields and multiple shields may also be used.

[0016] In order to maintain flexibility of the hand provided by asplit-fingered glove, the shield in a split-fingered glove of thepresent invention is engaged with and slidably constrained by thefinger-receiving portion in response to curling and uncurling of thehand. The shield may be engaged with and slidably constrained by theglove by any suitable means. For example, the shield may be within asleeve or sleeves of material formed into or onto the material thatcovers the glove, the shield may be within a pocket or pockets formedinto the padding of the glove, the shield may be between the materialthat covers the glove and the padding of the finger-receiving portion,or the shield may be between the material that covers the glove andstrips of material attached to the glove. In any event, the shieldbridges the articulations between sections of padding along the back ofthe finger-receiving portion of the glove.

[0017] The articulations between sections of padding may be covered oruncovered by the material that covers the glove. When the articulationsare covered, some of the material that covers the glove will bunch up atthe articulations when the hand is uncurled and stretch out when thehand is curled. Typically in a split-fingered hockey glove, thearticulation is uncovered so that the material that covers the glove canbe snugly fitted to the padding without bunching when the hand isuncurled.

[0018] In the uncovered arrangement, a shield bridging the articulationswill not be covered by the material that covers the glove, thus raisingthe possibility that the shield could slip out of its position and belost from the glove. Any suitable means for preventing the shield fromslipping out may be used. For example, the shield may be long enoughthat it cannot slip out from under the material that covers the glove,the shield may be secured in the finger-receiving portion, etc., or acombination thereof. When the shield is secured in the finger-receivingportion, it is typically secured on one side of the articulation but notthe other side since the shield must remain slidable in response to thecurling and uncurling of the hand. In one embodiment, the shield issecured at one of its ends, preferably the end near the end of thefinger-receiving portion allowing the other end to slide freely. Where asingle shield covers more than one articulation, the shield may besecured at the end closest the end of the finger-receiving portionthereby allowing the shield to slide freely over all of thearticulations in the finger-receiving portion. Alternatively, twooverlapping shields may be used to cover one or more articulations andeach shield may be secured to the finger-receiving portion on oppositesides of the articulation. Alternatively, the shield may be formed oftelescoping parts and secured to the finger-receiving portion at bothends of the shield on opposite sides of the articulation.

[0019] The shield may be secured by any suitable means, for example, bymeans of frictional engagement, by means of stitching, by means of anadhesive, etc. or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the shieldis hooked over the end of a finger-receiving portion and frictionallyheld between the material that covers the glove and the padding of thefinger-receiving portion.

[0020] The shield may be made of any suitable material that offerssufficient protection from impact and/or sufficient support againsttwisting. For example, the shield may be made of plastic (e.g.high-density polyethylene), metal, wood, etc. The shield is preferably athin strip or plate to minimize bulk. Strips of plastic are preferred.

[0021] Split-fingered gloves of the present invention are particularlyuseful in contact sports in which sticks are used, for example, hockey,lacrosse, etc. Currently, many split-fingered gloves used in such sportshave protective webs of material in the articulations between the paddedportions of the finger-receiving portions of the glove. Such protectivewebs may be used in addition to the shield in gloves of the presentinvention. Thus, it is possible, if desired, to retrofit existingsplit-fingered gloves with a shield to minimize the cost of producingsplit-fingered gloves of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] In order that the invention may be more clearly understood,preferred embodiments thereof will now be described in detail by way ofexample, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0023]FIG. 1 is a perspective plan view of a right-handed hockey gloveaccording to one embodiment of the invention in which eachfinger-receiving portion has one shielded articulation;

[0024]FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of a single finger receivingportion of the glove of FIG. 1 in an uncurled position;

[0025]FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of a single finger receivingportion of the glove of FIG. 1 in a curled position;

[0026]FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of a single finger-receivingportion of a hockey glove in a curled position according to a secondembodiment of the invention in which the finger-receiving portion hastwo articulations shielded by a single shield;

[0027]FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of a single finger-receivingportion of a hockey glove in a curled position according to a thirdembodiment of the invention in which the finger-receiving portion hastwo articulations, each articulation being shielded by a separateshield; and,

[0028]FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of a single finger-receivingportion of a hockey glove in a curled position according to a fourthembodiment of the invention in which the finger-receiving portion hastwo articulations shielded by two overlapping shields.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0029] Referring to FIG. 1, one embodiment of a split-fingered hockeyglove of the present invention comprises a hand-receiving portion(generally denoted as (10)) which includes a cuff portion (15) and ahand portion (16). Extending from the hand-receiving portion is athumb-receiving portion (21) and a finger-receiving portion (generallydenoted as (20)). The glove, particularly on the back, is padded toprovide protection for the hockey player's hand.

[0030] The finger-receiving portion (20) comprises four individualfinger-receiving portions (20 a, 20 b, 20 c, 20 d), one for each of thefour fingers and each being individually padded. The padding on theindividual finger-receiving portions is discontinuous with the paddingon the rest of the glove and discontinuous on the finger-receivingportion itself. Thus, between the finger-receiving portion (20) and thehand-receiving portion (10) is a first articulation (18) in which afirst protective web (19) is attached. In addition, each of the fourindividual finger-receiving portions (20 a, 20 b, 20 c, 20 d) has asecond articulation approximately in the location of a finger joint. Theback of each individual finger-receiving portion is well padded forwardof and to the rear of each second articulation, however, the secondarticulation itself does not enjoy padding to the same extent therebyexposing the finger joint to injury. Therefore, each finger joint isprotected by individual shields (25 a, 25 b, 25 c, 25 d) disposed overthe second articulations and slidably engaged with each individualfinger-receiving portion. The manner in which the shields are engagedwith the finger-receiving portions is discussed below with reference toFIGS. 4 and 5. Each second articulation of the individualfinger-receiving portions has attached therein a second protective web(for example, (27 a)) for added protection for the finger joints. Thefirst articulation and the second articulations give the glove greaterflexibility so that a player can more easily curl and uncurl the hand.The shields (25 a, 25 b, 25 c, 25 d) provide protection to the fingerjoints, especially when the hand is curled around a stick, as in ahockey game.

[0031] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional viewof a single finger receiving portion of the glove of FIG. 1 in anuncurled position and FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of a singlefinger receiving portion of the glove of FIG. 1 in a curled position. Afinger-receiving portion (20 a) comprises a padded proximal/medialsegment (31) and a padded distal segment (32). The proximal/medialsegment (31) is separated from the hand-receiving portion (10) of theglove by a first articulation (18) having a first protective web (19)attached therein. The proximal/medial segment (31) is separated from thedistal segment (32) by a second articulation having a second protectiveweb (27 a) attached therein. The finger-receiving portion (20 a) alsocomprises a finger sheath (35) in which a finger may be inserted. Thefinger-receiving portion (20 a), as well as the entire glove, is coveredby an outer cover (37), generally made of a durable material such asleather, nylon and/or other typical glove covering material.

[0032] A thin, but durable, plastic shield (25 a) covers the secondarticulation to provide protection for the finger joint at the secondarticulation. The shield (25 a) is a single strip of plastic with a bentportion (26 a) at the distal end, which hooks over the end of thepadding of the distal segment (32) of the finger-receiving portion (20a). The shield (25 a) is held snugly between the padding of the distal(32) and proximal/medial (31) segments and the outer cover (37), whichis stretched over the padding.

[0033] When the finger-receiving portion (20 a) is in the uncurledposition as depicted in FIG. 2, the shield (25 a) covers the secondarticulation and extends along the back of the padding of theproximal/medial segment (31) most of the way to the first articulation(18). When the hand is curled and the finger-receiving portion (20 a) iscurled as depicted in FIG. 3, the shield (25 a) slides between the outercover (37) and the padding in response to the curling motion of thefinger. Sliding of the shield (25 a) in this manner is permitted sincethe shield (25 a) is frictionally secured at the distal end of thefinger-receiving portion by means of the bent portion (26 a) hooked overthe padding of the distal segment (32) while the proximal end of theshield (25 a) is not secured. It can be seen by comparing FIG. 2 to FIG.3 that the proximal end of the shield (25 a) is closer to the secondarticulation when the finger-receiving portion (20 a) is curled thanwhen it is not curled. The shield (25 a) is long enough that it will notslip out into the second articulation when the finger-receiving portion(20 a) is fully curled even though the shield has slid substantiallycloser to the second articulation and the size of the gap of the secondarticulation increases upon curling. Thus, the shield (25 a) stillcovers the second articulation thereby continuing to protect the fingerjoint and provide support against twisting of the distal segment (32) ofthe finger-receiving portion (20 a). It can be seen from FIG. 3 that theouter covering (37) forms a bunch (38) on the inner radius of the curlwhen the finger-receiving portion (20 a) is curled.

[0034]FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of a single finger-receivingportion of a hockey glove in a curled position according to a secondembodiment of the invention in which the finger-receiving portion (120a) has two articulations shielded by a single shield. Thefinger-receiving portion comprises a padded proximal segment (130), apadded medial segment (131) and a padded distal segment (132). A firstarticulation (118) having a first protective web (119) attached thereinseparates the proximal segment (130) from a hand-receiving portion (110)of the glove. A second articulation having a second protective web (127a) at about the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint of a fingerseparates the proximal segment (130) from the medial segment (131). Athird articulation having a third protective web (128 a) at about thedistal interphalangeal (DIP) joint of the finger separates the medialsegment (131) from the distal segment (132). The finger-receivingportion (120 a) also comprises a finger sheath (135) in which a fingermay be inserted. The finger-receiving portion (120 a), as well as theentire glove, is covered by an outer cover (137), generally made of adurable material such as leather, nylon and/or other typical glovecovering material.

[0035] A shield (125 a) made from a single, thin, durable strip ofplastic covers both the second and third articulations. In a mannersimilar to that described in relation to FIGS. 4 and 5, the shield (125a) has a bent portion (126 a), which hooks over the distal end of thepadding of the distal segment (132) and is thereby frictionally securedat the distal end since the shield (125 a) is held in place between thepadding and the outer cover (137). The proximal end of the shield (125a) is not secured and slides between the outer cover (137) and thepadding when the finger-receiving portion is curled and uncurled inresponse to curling and uncurling of a hand. The shield (125 a) alwayscovers the second and third articulations, even in the most extremelycurled positioned since it is long enough that the proximal end does notslip out into the second articulation upon curling of thefinger-receiving portion (120 a).

[0036]FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of a single finger-receivingportion of a hockey glove in a curled position according to a thirdembodiment of the invention in which the finger-receiving portion (220a) has two articulations, each articulation being shielded by a separateshield. The finger-receiving portion comprises a padded proximal segment(230), a padded medial segment (231) and a padded distal segment (232).A first articulation (218) having a first protective web (219) attachedtherein separates the proximal segment (230) from a hand-receivingportion (210) of the glove. A second articulation having a secondprotective web (227 a) at about the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) jointof a finger separates the proximal segment (230) from the medial segment(231). A third articulation having a third protective web (228 a) atabout the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint of the finger separates themedial segment (231) from the distal segment (232). The finger-receivingportion (220 a) also comprises a finger sheath (235) in which a fingermay be inserted. The finger-receiving portion (220 a), as well as theentire glove, is covered by an outer cover (237), generally made of adurable material such as leather, nylon and/or other typical glovecovering material.

[0037] A proximal interphalangeal shield (224 a) covers the secondarticulation to protect the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint of afinger and to provide support against twisting of the medial segment(231). The proximal interphalangeal shield (224 a) is held in positionbetween the outer cover (237) and the padding of the proximal (230) andmedial (231) segments. The distal end of the proximal interphalangealshield (224 a) is secured by means of stitching so that only theproximal end slides when the finger-receiving portion (220 a) is curled.The proximal interphalangeal shield (224 a) is long enough that it willnot slip out into the second articulation at the most extremely curledposition of the finger-receiving portion (220 a).

[0038] A distal interphalangeal shield (225 a) covers the thirdarticulation to protect the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint of afinger and to provide support against twisting of the distal segment(232). The distal interphalangeal shield (225 a) is held in positionbetween the outer cover (237) and the padding of the medial (231) anddistal (232) segments. The distal end of the distal interphalangealshield (225 a) is frictionally secured by means of a bent portion (226a), which hooks over the distal end of the padding of the distal segment(232) so that only the proximal end of the distal interphalangeal shield(225 a) slides when the finger-receiving portion (220 a) is curled. Thedistal interphalangeal shield (225 a) is long enough that it will notslip out into the third articulation at the most extremely curledposition of the finger-receiving portion (220 a).

[0039]FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of a single finger-receivingportion of a hockey glove in a curled position according to a fourthembodiment of the invention in which the finger-receiving portion (320a) has two articulations shielded by two overlapping shields. Thefinger-receiving portion comprises a padded proximal segment (330), apadded medial segment (331) and a padded distal segment (332). A firstarticulation (318) separates the proximal segment (330) from ahand-receiving portion (310) of the glove. A second articulation (327a), without a protective web, at about the proximal interphalangeal(PIP) joint of a finger separates the proximal segment (330) from themedial segment (331). A third articulation (328 a), without a protectiveweb, at about the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint of the fingerseparates the medial segment (331) from the distal segment (332). Thefinger-receiving portion (320 a) also comprises a finger sheath (335) inwhich a finger may be inserted. The finger-receiving portion (320 a), aswell as the entire glove, is covered by an outer cover (337), generallymade of a durable material such as leather, nylon and/or other typicalglove covering material.

[0040] A first shield (324 a) covers both the second articulation (327a) and the third articulation (328 a) to protect both the proximalinterphalangeal (PIP) and distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints of afinger and to provide support against twisting of the medial (331) anddistal (332) segments. The proximal end of the first shield (324 a) isfrictionally secured by means of a bent portion, which hooks over theproximal end of the padding of the proximal segment (330) so that onlythe distal end of the first shield (324 a) slides when thefinger-receiving portion (320 a) is curled. A second shield (325 a)overlaps the first shield (324 a) and covers both the secondarticulation (327 a) and the third articulation (328 a) to protect boththe proximal interphalangeal (PIP) and distal interphalangeal (DIP)joints of a finger and to provide support against twisting of the medial(331) and distal segment (332). The distal end of the second shield (325a) is frictionally secured by means of a bent portion, which hooks overthe distal end of the padding of the distal segment (332) so that onlythe proximal end of the second shield (325 a) slides when thefinger-receiving portion (320 a) is curled. Both the first shield (324a) and the second shield (325 a) are constrained by and slidable withina sleeve (340) of material sewn onto the outer cover (337) on the backof the of the finger-receiving portion (320 a).

[0041] It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinationsare of utility and may be employed without reference to other featuresand sub-combinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope ofthe claims.

[0042] Since many possible embodiments may be made of the inventionwithout departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood thatall matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is tobe interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having described the invention, what is claimed is:
 1. A split-fingeredglove comprising: a hand-receiving portion for receiving a hand; and,one or more padded finger-receiving portions extending from thehand-receiving portion, one or more of the finger-receiving portionshaving one or more flexible articulations at a back thereof and having ashield or shields over the one or more articulations to protect one ormore finger joints, the shield or shields being engaged with andslidably constrained by the finger-receiving portion, the shield orshields sliding in response to curling and uncurling the hand.
 2. Theglove according to claim 1, wherein the shield slides between materialthat covers the glove and padding on the back of the finger-receivingportion.
 3. The glove according to claim 1, wherein the shield slideswithin a sleeve of material formed into or onto material that covers theback of the finger-receiving portion.
 4. The glove according to claim 1,wherein the shield is secured on one side of the one or more flexiblearticulations.
 5. The glove according to claim 4, wherein the shield issecured by hooking an end of the shield over padding in the glove. 6.The glove according to claim 1, wherein the one or more paddedfinger-receiving portions is four padded finger-receiving portions. 7.The glove according to claim 6, wherein there is one shield perarticulation.
 8. The glove according to claim 6, wherein there are twooverlapping shields per articulation.
 9. The glove according to claim 6,wherein there is one shield per finger-receiving portion.
 10. The gloveaccording to claim 1, wherein the glove is a hockey glove.
 11. A hockeyglove comprising: a hand-receiving portion for receiving a hand; and,four padded finger-receiving portions extending from the hand-receivingportion, each finger-receiving portions having, at a back thereof, oneflexible articulation having a shield or shields thereover to protect afinger joint, the shield or shields being engaged with and slidablyconstrained by the finger-receiving portion, the shield or shieldssliding in response to curling and uncurling the hand.
 12. The hockeyglove according to claim 11, wherein the shield slides between materialthat covers the glove and padding on the back of the finger-receivingportion.
 13. The hockey glove according to claim 11, wherein the shieldslides within a sleeve of material formed into or onto material thatcovers the back of the finger-receiving portion.
 14. The hockey gloveaccording to claim 11, wherein the shield is secured on one side of theflexible articulation.
 15. The hockey glove according to claim 14,wherein the shield is secured by hooking an end of the shield overpadding in the glove.
 16. The hockey glove according to claim 11,wherein the shield is two overlapping shields.
 17. A hockey glovecomprising: a hand-receiving portion for receiving a hand; and, fourpadded finger-receiving portions extending from the hand-receivingportion, each finger-receiving portions having, at a back thereof, twoflexible articulations having a shield or shields thereover to protect afinger joint, the shield or shields being engaged with and slidablyconstrained by the finger-receiving portion, the shield or shieldssliding in response to curling and uncurling the hand.
 18. The hockeyglove according to claim 17, wherein the shield slides between materialthat covers the glove and padding on the back of the finger-receivingportion.
 19. The hockey glove according to claim 17, wherein the shieldslides within a sleeve of material formed into or onto material thatcovers the back of the finger-receiving portion.
 20. The hockey gloveaccording to claim 17, wherein the shield is secured on one side offlexible articulations.
 21. The hockey glove according to claim 20,wherein the shield is secured by hooking an end of the shield overpadding in the glove.
 22. The hockey glove according to claim 17,wherein the shield is two overlapping shields.